Andrew Cromer, of AXS Law Group in Wynwood. Andrew Cromer, of AXS Law Group in Miami. Courtesy photo

The former associate general counsel at New York-based Shake Shack said he plans to put the business skills he developed in-house to use for a multitude of clients as a corporate and transactional attorney at AXS Law Group in Miami.

“I had the privilege of working at a really great company and supporting its business,” said Andrew Cromer of his four and a half years at the fast casual restaurant chain that Cromer said grew from 30 to 130 stores during his time there. “What attracted me to AXS was the opportunity to support so many businesses and still feel effectively like in-house counsel, even though I'm at a firm and have a multitude of clients.”

Cromer said in an interview that his experience at Shake Shack—which included transactional and all litigation matters, as well as intellectual property and compliance issues—will be particularly useful to clients in the hospitality and retail industries, especially those in a growth mode, though he expects to expand his practice to other areas.

“At the end of the day, companies are very similar when you strip down to what they're selling and what services they're providing,” he said.

“Given his experience working in-house, Andrew Cromer is a natural fit for AXS Law Group as we expand our reach in South Florida and beyond,” Jeremy Ben-David, managing partner of AXS Law Group, said in a news release. “We want lawyers with that 'X factor'—a mix of personality, sound judgment and a keen business instinct. Andrew has all that in spades.”

Cromer said he also was attracted to the “personalities” and “unique model” at AXS, which prides itself on innovation and appealing to millennials and regularly offers alternative fee structures ranging from flat fees to equity in the client's business.

A native Miamian, Cromer earned his degree at New York Law School and started his legal career as an associate in the New York office of Gottlieb Siegel & Schwartz, according to his LinkedIn profile. He also held associate positions at Lynch Rowin and Blank Rome in New York before moving to Shake Shack in January 2015.